A building was built for Forest Grove School in 1893. It was located near the Cave-In-Rock Road, or today State Rd. 91. The new building was built on an acre lot and was funded by the state with the help of the patrons.
After the building was completed, Tom Akers furnished the maple saplings and a very beautiful yard was built around the school house. The Aker family lived in the Forest Grove community.
The schoolhouse was also used for Sunday School through the summer months, and there would be preaching occasionally.
There was also a Literary Society that met in the school building every other Friday night.
The patrons of this Forest Grove School were the families of Bracey, Williams, Heaths, Shuberts, Akers, Paris, Milligans, Terry's Robinson's, Fritts and many other.
The first teachers of the new school were, Edgar Bozeman, Sid Moore, Karl Flanary, Emma Terry, George Conditt and Maude Gill. The last one to teach was George Wofford.
Textbooks were McGuffy's reader and speller, Rays arithmetic, geography and physiology.
After the school districts were consolidated and school wasn't held here anymore, the Forest Grove School house was used for family reunions, and church gatherings.
The last year for the Forest Grove School was 1958. The building was torn down in 1985 by Duke Hodge who then owned the property.
In those days before it was closed and torn down, it was a nice place to stop and rest if you were coming from Illinois and going to Marion. Many people used it for a picnic area as it was a nice cool place to stop with all the shape trees and nice yard.
That's all gone now, it just an over-grown lot that usually has hay stored on it or is grown up with weeds and grass. A part of our forgotten passages of time.
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